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"I see stars!" shouted Sibyl

Andra couldn’t, but she believed the girl’s excited voice, and guided the bubble up so they could get the hell out of there

"To the left," said Paul "There"

Her ears started to ring and she couldn’t hear anything now, either She wasn’t sure if she was out of the hole in the cave or not until she felt Paul’s triuh their link

She drove the bubble sideways,sure they didn’t fall back down into the hole once the bubble popped

We’re safe You can let go now

It was Paul’s voice in her head--his coo They landed with a thurass Her heart ha with each beat She could feel Paul’s fingers lace through hers and reveled in the pride radiating out frootten theone as if someone had flipped a switch She reached out for him in her mind, but slaain

The luceria opened and slid frorass She tried to reach for it, but her ar was broken now, and Paul was gone

The world faded away and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it

Chapter 29

Paul had expected there to be pain He saw the luceria fall He’d braced hi happened Andra had used so er pounded at his insides, trying to tear hi to die, but at least he wouldn’t be in quite so athered her in his arms and held her while her body recovered The other Theronai had found the with the others who had gone down there with him They were safe A little dusty, but safe

Paul bowed his head in relief Everyone had made it out alive They had rescued Sibyl, and the re All in all, it was a total success Too bad he didn’t feel like celebrating

Helen bent down and checked Andra’s pulse "Is she okay?"

"I think so Just overload"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angus crushing his daughter in a desperate hug Gilda hung back, watching, wringing her hands as if she were itching to join in She didn’t

"I knohat that’s like," said Helen She reached into the grass and picked up the luceria "Looks like she lost this"

Paul’s hand shook when he took it from her Colors swirled inside the band, still , but not coive him another week Only one hour As much as he’d hoped for ivable ones He didn’t deserve another week and he knew it So did she

He fastened the luceria around his neck and felt the first leaf fall from his lifemark It fluttered down over his ribs, and before it had stopped falling, another joined it Then another

Living until sunrise ht have been an optimistic estimate At this rate, he’d have only a few hours at most

He wanted to spend them with Andra, as selfish as that was He swore to himself he wouldn’t let her watch hier

He had only a few in to fade and he’d have to leave her He couldn’t trust hiain He couldn’t trust himself not to hurt her or try to enslave her as he had before He wanted forever with her too much to risk it She’d be safer if he went toto do for decades

He picked her up and followed the ed with dirt and pale froht He was a lucky man to have known her, even if it had been for only a few days

A few days with Andra orth more to hiover Her head pounded, her throat was sore, and she was pretty sure she was going to puke That was the thought that got her et sick in her bed

As she sat up, she quickly realized that she wasn’t in her bed She was in a car outside of that nasty cave The doors were open and a waruard not far away, scanning the area, speaking too low for her to hear

The whole night caotten theht years, she could finally lay Tori to rest

Tears stung her eyes as she leaned down and unzipped the duffel bag The tattered pink nightgoas no more than shreds now The bones inside it were dusty, and she couldn’t bring herself to touch them This was Tori’s body, but it wasn’t all that she left behind She’d brought joy to everyone around her She’d given Andra ood me, but the years she’d had had been good ones, and she’d used them to spill more love out into the world than anyone else Andra had ever known

Andra’s tears dripped onto the red bag, leaving behind dark spots "Love you, baby," she whispered "You can rest now"

With that, Andra zipped the bag closed and put the past behind her Tori wouldn’t have wanted her to be sad She would have wanted her to live and laugh and love

Paul

He was nowhere around, but when she stepped over the bag to get out and find hi under Tori’s bones on the floorboards of the SUV

He never went anywhere without it Why would he have left it behind?

Unless he wasn’t co back

Andra started to panic and reached out for hi there Her hand flew to her throat and only bare skin greeted her The luceria was gone Their time was over

He’d left her But why?

She scraave out on her She fell to the concrete and her palms burned from the impact Madoc rushed to her and helped her up